Environmental responsibility

Luke’s goal is to achieve activities in line with the ISO 14001 standard in terms of environmental sustainability by the end of its current strategy period. Currently, environmental goals are being specified in more detail, environmental impact assessments are being coordinated, and the environmental policy and related procedures are being developed in cooperation with quality activities. Another goal is to increase the personnel’s awareness of the theme through various campaigns and training.

Luke’s research infrastructure services set a goal for 2023 to increase the personnel’s environmental awareness and competence. To achieve this goal, employees had to complete the more than one-hour course for sustainable development professionals in eOppiva, the central government’s shared learning environment. Through training, the personnel can identify and promote sustainable development themes and understand the impact of their actions (footprint) on the environment, people and society, both inside and outside the workplace. Training increases our understanding of what we can do to promote sustainable development by producing a desired positive impact on the environment (handprint).

In Luke’s research infrastructure services, 186 people completed the course.  In 2024, the goal is to conduct a survey for the personnel of research infrastructure services to apply the lessons learned to research environments and seek practical measures and potential innovation to further improve environmental sustainability.

Calculating the carbon footprint is an important part of organisations’ sustainability strategies. Because Luke leads the way in sustainable development in Finland, it is essential to calculate the carbon footprint annually, report it appropriately and integrate it into Luke’s sustainability goals.

We evaluated our carbon footprint calculation internally at the end of 2023. As a result, it was recommended that the documentation and reporting of the carbon footprint calculation be developed to ensure transparency. This development calls for time and resources. Therefore, Luke’s carbon footprint for 2023 will only be published at the end of 2024.